You can add Miami Beach police officer Kenneth MacLeod to the growing list of cops who have been caught on camera acting like assholes.

Miami New Times managing editor Tim Elfrink posted a video this morning of MacLeod launching into a profanity-laced tirade after a young man he'd ticketed for a license plate infraction said "God bless you."

The video was uploaded to YouTube two days ago by Albert Valdes...and it's quickly going viral.

Now, MacLeod is being investigated by the Miami Beach police department's Internal Affairs unit, according to a police spokesperson.

They stare each other down for a couple of seconds with Macleod holding his handcuffs before he continues laying into him.

On a personal note, 6 or 7 years ago I witnessed first hand, one of MacLeod's tirades.

I was with a group of 4 or 5 paparazzi who were parked in a grassy area at the east end of the Julia Tuttle Causeway. After about 10 minutes of taking pictures of some houses across the bay, MacLeod suddenly appeared, rolling up in his police car, getting out and asking us what we were doing.

After we told him we were taking pictures, he immediately started berating us in much the same manner and tone as you see in the video above, ending his tirade with something like "You f**king paparazzi make me sick," or words to that effect.

MacLeod, a K-9 officer who joined the department in 1990, is described by one colleague as a "very good street cop."

MacLeod received his department's Medal of Valor in Feb. 1992, a month after being shot and seriously wounded in a shootout.

From the Miami Herald, Feb. 6, 1992:

A tearful Kenneth MacLeod , the 24-year-old Miami Beach police officer seriously wounded in a Jan. 3 shootout, was greeted with a standing ovation in the City Commission chambers Wednesday after he was presented with the Medal of Valor.

"If you realize that just four weeks ago this man was shot four times with a .45 pistol, I think he's in remarkable condition," said Police Chief Phillip Huber, who described MacLeod as "one of the bravest men I know."

The rookie officer was working an off-duty assignment at the intersection of Collins Avenue and 31st Street when he approached a motorcyclist who had been acting suspiciously, Huber said.

The motorcyclist pulled a handgun and quickly fired four shots, shattering bones in the officer's left arm, right leg and lower back, police said. The fourth bullet struck MacLeod 's bulletproof vest.

The officer managed to pull his own handgun and squeeze off 16 shots, disabling the suspect, identified as Morgan Russell, 25, of Minnesota.

Three bystanders who quickly moved to assist MacLeod after the shooting were also honored at Wednesday's meeting: Kevin McFarland and George Dukes, who subdued the suspect and handcuffed him, and Steve Alvarez, who grabbed the suspect's gun.

"There is not a police officer in the world who could hope to perform more admirably," Huber said.

MacLeod 's voice broke as he answered all the praise. "I'd just like to thank everyone on the Police Department, the
commission, Fire-Rescue and the three people who came and helped me . . . that's all."

It was hot that first afternoon, hot for all the weeks to come, as if the dog days had settled hard on DeSoto County and stuck like flies on the lid of a jelly jar. The big iron gates—the ones with a piano on them—swung open from the middle, creaking and shuddering like something from a scary movie. I drove up to the big brick ranch-style house, built on the edge of a man-made lake. I had interviewed a million people, but not a legend before, not the living history of rock and roll, not one of the last true troubadours.

And here's Lewis himself, talking about his favorite live album, “Live at the Star Club,” [embedded below] recorded in 1964 in Hamburg, Germany:

“Live at the Star Club” from 1964 is my best live recording. That Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, was a wild deal. We cut that live, and the audience wanted to tear up the stage. It was a big hall and wide open as a case knife. The best thing about playing there was the equipment—the mics, the amplifiers, guitars, fiddles and piano. We didn’t have that kind of high-quality gear back home. In other places where they’d give me a bad piano, I’d usually finish it off anyway.

(Rolling Stone magazine once described the album this way: "Live At The Star Club, Hamburg is not an album, it's a crime scene: Jerry Lee Lewis slaughters his rivals in a thirteen-song set that feels like one long convulsion.")

Jerry Lee Lewis, live at the Star Club, Hamburg Germany, April 5, 1964.

According to its website, it's a magazine that "addresses the relevant financial, legal and lifestyle issues unique to high net-worth individuals." (That definitely leaves me out.)

Levine is getting ready to mark one year in office. But in that year, he's never given an in-depth interview to the Miami Herald, a newspaper he despises. On the other hand Levine has no problem asking the Herald to print his op-ed pieces.He likes getting his message out minus the annoyance of a reporter asking a lot of pesky questions, so the Herald's op-ed page is perfect for him. In other words, he's a hypocrite.

Levine also likes to reach his constituents on platforms that he can control completely: Facebook, Twitter, etc. Leave a comment he doesn't like and you get blocked.

So when Worth magazine contacted him for an interview, Levine was more than happy to cooperate. Because, as you'll see below, there weren't that many tough questions.

But aside from that, the interview is both intriguing and revealing. Levine opens up to writer Richard Bradley in a way he hasn't with the Herald or any South Florida reporters.

(In response to one question, Levine says that while campaigning door-to-door early last year, he got "thrown out of many buildings," presumably for trespassing.)

Below are some of the Bradley's questions and Levine's answers...along with some analysis - in blue - by yours truly.

Introduction:Five years ago, Worth profiled Miami Beach businessman Philip Levine, who had stumbled into a job giving talks to cruise ship tourists and parlayed that into a company called Onboard Media, which created content—everything from magazines to in-cabin TV programming—for cruise lines. In 2000, Levine sold Onboard to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy for a reported nine-figure sum. He lived well, invested in some real estate and acquired a reputation for dating models. The question our profile asked: What would Philip Levine do for his second act?

It took a while, but last year we finally found out: Levine ran for mayor of Miami Beach. Decrying the incompetence and cronyism of local government, Levine, who had never run for political office before, spent $2 million in his quest to govern a city of 90,000. In November 2013 he won with just over 50 percent of the vote.

Actually, he squeaked by with 50.48% of the votes cast...hardly a mandate.

Worth: So if the business is fun and profitable, why run for mayor?

Levine: I just always thought it’d be something I’d like to do when the time was right for me. And then, of course, I have a tremendous friendship with former President Clinton. Being around him and around world leaders, and seeing all the good that he’s done with the Clinton Global Initiative, everything else that he’s done in his life….

Name dropper.

Worth: What I was really driving at was the personal life aspect of running for office. You’re a single guy with a reputation for dating beautiful women. Did that give you pause?

Levine: I’m not married, so for me, it’s not an issue. I don’t have a criminal record. I’ve got a great credit history.

A mayor who dates beautiful models, who is not a criminal, and who has a great credit history. What's not to like?

Worth: Other than Clinton, were any politicians a model for you?

Levine: [Former New York mayor] Michael Bloomberg. If I could be 10 percent as good as him, I’d be very happy. He’ll go down, in my opinion, as one of the greatest American mayors.

Levine: I was running against a gay Hispanic commissioner named Michael Góngora, who was my main opponent. A comedian named Steve Berke. And an Israeli gentleman who’s very unique.

A prominent Miami Beach resident emailed me this observation:"I HATE to be politically correct but his description of Michael Gongora is...offensive to me. Would he have said 'a black commissioner?' Or 'a white commissioner?' Come on."

Worth: Was there a watershed moment for you in making the decision?

Levine: I was so sick and tired of seeing people run for office or people in office who have two characteristics. Number one, they’ve never been successful at anything in their lives. Number two, they want to run for office to help themselves. These are both horrible characteristics.

Interesting. So if we're to believe Levine, he spent $2 million of his own money to get a job that pays $10,000 a year...and he doesn't want to help himself? He wants nothing in return? Really?

Also, Levine recently hosted a reunion of former Miami Beach mayors. According to Levine, they all ran for office because they'd "never been successful at anything in their lives and wanted to help themselves."

Oct. 8, 2014: Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine hosted a groupof
former Miami Beach mayors who, according to him, had "never been successful at anything in their lives," until they ran for office.(Click image to enlarge.)

Worth: How long does it take to knock on 6,000 doors?

Levine: It took me about seven months. I went through cans of suntan protection spray.

What in the hell is "suntan protection spray?"

Worth: You didn’t get a lot of union support during the campaign. Why not?

Levine: I knew I was getting no endorsements. What’s amazing about unions and media is, they love the status quo. The police union supported my opponent. The fire union supported my opponent. The AFL-CIO supported my opponent. The Miami Herald couldn’t have been more against me.

Worth: How do you explain that?

Levine: Failing businesses usually fail from the top. I used to laugh and say that when I started my new business, I made more money in my first year than the Miami Herald made in the last 10. But their editorial board was aggressively against me. They saw a rich guy.

Worth: You got Bill Clinton’s endorsement, though.

Levine: Two weeks before the election, President Clinton came down and did a press conference with me. The Herald was like, “Are you sure it’s President Clinton?” (Laughs.) These are fakakta companies.

There's a reason why I call Levine, Mayor Dickhead. He's earned the name. In three questions, he manages to diss the Miami Herald, not once, but twice. Good luck in getting the Herald to print your next cheesy, blowhard op-ed, Mayor Dickhead.

Worth: You’re taking on some forces that have more tangible structural power than the office of mayor here does.

Levine: Well, that’s the beauty of being a Bloomberg-esque type mayor.

You're name dropping again, Mayor Dickhead.

Worth: Policy goals aside, are you enjoying the job? Are you having fun?

South Florida's most self-important and narcissistic politician, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, recently penned an op-ed piece for the Miami Herald that talked about his city's fight against sea level rise.

The truest measure of any society, or any person, is the willingness to protect a future they will never personally experience.
Call it what you will - caring for others, having a conscience, paying it forward - but this is precisely what defines and motivates the best in all of us. This is especially true when the cause is universal, the effects are close to home, and the outcome is uncertain.

So far, so good.

And then come these three lines:

Like America's "greatest generation," who, at a critical moment in time, stood together to defeat the terror of Nazi Germany.
Like President John F. Kennedy, who stared down Kruschev-like dictators banging shoes on tables to claim what was never theirs.
Like President Ronald Reagan, who inspired a nation to believe again after a prolonged time of doubt and despair.

No, you're not hallucinating. Philip Levine is actually comparing his city's fight against sea level rise with the fight against Nazi Germany.

However, it's unknown why those lines didn't make it in the paper. A bit much, even for the Herald? We'll never know.

But Levine saves the the best for last with these two paragraphs that did get in the paper:

[T]here's nothing I won't do, no place I won't go, to seek the answers to one of the greatest challenges society as we know it has ever confronted.
As Great Britain faced an impending invasion during World War II, Winston Churchill said, "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Modesty is not one of Mayor Philip Levine's strong suits. (Click image to enlarge)

In just 726 words, Levine manages to compare himself to "America's greatest generation," John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Winston Churchill.

Really, Mayor Levine? Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy?

You can't be serious.

I suggest you look up "megalomania" or "narcissistic personality disorder" in the dictionary and then seek out the services of a competent psychiatrist. You have some serious issues.

"I am thrilled to have Mindy take the helm of the newsroom at the Miami Herald, then publisher David Landsberg said. "She is an outstanding journalist with a deep personal connection to South Florida. She is uniquely qualified to lead us into the future." [Source]

However, according to a recently filed publisher's statement, [embedded below] the Herald's daily print circulation is now at about 86,000 copies, and Sunday is 157,000. (Last year's publisher's statement listed the daily circulation at a little more than 94,000 copies daily, and almost 174,000 Sunday.)

Put another way, in the four years since Marques Gonzalez took "the helm" at the paper, the Herald's daily circulation has dropped by more than 105,000 copies, and Sunday's loss is almost the same - about 106,000.

"Where is the bottom?" one former high-ranking Herald staffer asked in an email that's now making the rounds.

The executive editor actually boasted recently about 20 percent of the Herald's revenue coming from digital means. Think about that - after all of this time and effort, only 20 percent of our revenue is coming from the newspaper's only hope for the future, digital. And that's 20 percent of an overall revenue base that steadily diminishes as print circulation and advertising evaporate. That's hardly boast-worthy.

But perhaps most disturbing, on Tuesday we allowed an anonymous poster, "unhappyatjackson," to suggest that one Jackson employee "needs to be fired" while another, Marvin O'Quinn, "needs to go to jail." When did the Herald decide it was appropriate to allow people to attack others ... perhaps libel them ... in print, and anonymously?

The Fairholme building’s unusual design and prominent location, though, seem sure to spur a lively public debate. When renderings were posted on the exMiami.com website recently, one commenter called it “awful” and another compared it to the Jawa Sandcrawler in Star Wars. But others embraced it just as forcefully: “YES YES YES! I love it!” went one fan. “Bravo!” went another.

This is terrible, very bad journalism. How does Viggluci know that these comments are being made by independently-minded people and not shills for a special interest related to the project? How does he even know it's more than one person making these posts?

Sunday, October 12, 2014

UPDATED on Oct 13 at 12:30 p.m.: Miami Beach Police on Monday released the identities of two men stopped early Sunday morning following the drive-by shooting on Ocean Drive. Arrested were Alex Crandon, 20, of Brooklyn, NY, and Dimitri Mara Bastien, 22, of Bayshore, NY.

Crandon.

The arrest report says the two were stopped by police in the 1500 block of Washington Ave. because the 2014 Nissan Altima they were riding in matched the description of a vehicle wanted in connection with the shooting at Fat Tuesday.

Crandon was arrested for knowingly driving with a suspended license, and Bastien was arrested for marijuana possession and possession of counterfeit currency.

Police discovered the 100 dollar bills he was carrying were counterfeit after inspecting them and finding that some of the bills had identical serial numbers.

Police believe that Bastien and Crandon were involved in some way with the drive-by shooting, but aren't being specific. At this point they have not been charged with the shooting.

________

UPDATED at 7:40 p.m.: Miami Beach Police spokesperson Vivian Thayer sends this update: "Two subjects were arrested from the traffic stop. The driver was arrested for traffic offense and one of the passengers was arrested for possession of cannabis and counterfeit currency.

"The shooter is still at large. BOLO is out for a slim black male 5'8-5'10"."

Thayer says she will have the names of those arrested in the morning

UPDATED at 7:05 p.m.: A source tells me that the drive-by shooting at Fat Tuesday was the result of a "New York gang member retaliating against another gang member."

_____

Miami Beach Police detectives are investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred early Sunday morning near Fat Tuesday on Ocean Drive. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Here's a statement on the incident from Miami Beach Police spokesperson Vivian Thayer:

Officers responded to the above location in reference to a “shots fired” call. A witness stated that a black male fired several shots from a dark colored vehicle at or near Fat Tuesday Bar and then fled the scene. Upon arrival officers found several “casings” and bullet holes at the incident location.

Crime scene and detectives were called to the scene. The investigation is on-going at this time.

At approximately 0247 hours officers Vincent Stella and Daniel Colombo spotted the vehicle at the 1500 block of Washington and a felony stop was made. Det. Estopinan and Gutierrez responded to the scene. One of the subjects had 8 counterfeit $100 dollar bills in his possession.

Police have yet to release the names of the suspects they have in custody.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

A couple of corrections caught our eye today...correcting errors that weren't quite as egregious as the one above, but amusing nonetheless.

First, from the New York Times:

Correction: October 8, 2014An earlier version of this column, using information from the San Francisco Giants, described incorrectly the cast member of “Beach Blanket Babylon” who sang “God Bless America” at Tuesday’s game while wearing a giant hat depicting the San Francisco skyline. She is a performer from the show, not a drag queen from the show.

And this from TV station Local 10:

A clarification tonight about a story investigative reporter Bob Norman brought you last night at 5:30.

In that report we stated Broward Sheriff Scott Israel's new driver, Deputy Bryan Conroy, is the sheriff's brother-in-law.

Conroy is actually the sheriff's brother's wife's sister's husband… which would be the sheriff's brother's brother-in-law. Sorry for the confusion...

No...no confusion at all, Local 10. Thanks for clearing that up. I think.

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Random Pixels has learned that Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle will announce - perhaps as early as next week - that no charges will be filed against any of the 12 officers involved in the 2011 Memorial Day shooting on Miami Beach that left one man dead and four bystanders wounded.

Raymond Herisse, 22, was killed when officers fired at least 116 rounds into his vehicle.

Police claim Herisse was driving erratically the wrong way down Collins Avenue. At one point he almost hit a Hialeah police officer on a bicycle who was helping with crowd control. Police said they thought the driver may have been armed.

As Herisse rolled to a stop near near 14th St. and Collins Avenue, police opened fire on the car. The barrage of bullets was captured on camera and posted on YouTube. Records show police fired 116 rounds, Herisse died on the scene.

Police found the gun hidden in Herisse’s blue, bullet-ridden Hyundai three days later.

A Miami-Dade Police’s forensics lab report found that Herisse did not test positive for gunpowder residue which means he did not fire the weapon.

Ed Griffith, spokesperson for Fernandez-Rundle, told me he wasn't aware of plans for an announcement next week. But he added, "When the report [on the shooting] is released, I expect it to be rather lengthy."

In a video to be shown to all officers at roll call starting Friday, Oates will announce a prohibition against shooting at vehicles - moving or stopped - for any reason. The only exceptions will be if the driver or passenger have a weapon.

Additionally, I've learned that Oates plans to go on radio station WEDR next week to talk about the no-shoot policy; his appearance timed so that he can discuss the policy change ahead of Fernandez-Rundle's planned announcement.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

In the mid-90s Kurt Eichenwald was a senior writer and investigative reporter at The New York Times, writing about "corporate corruption and related topics,"according to his bio on the Times' website.

"In 1998, [Eichenwald] won a Polk Award ... for a series of articles about allegations of corruption at the nation's largest private hospital chain, the Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation."

Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation is, of course, the company that Rick Scott founded and headed before being forced to resign in 1997.

So if anyone knows about Rick Scott, it's Kurt Eichenwald.

Yesterday, after a whistleblower spoke at a press conference calling Rick Scott "the leader of a criminal enterprise," Eichenwald - a journalist who probably knows more about Scott's criminality than anyone - took to Twitter, unleashing a blizzard of tweets about his dealings with Scott.

Sure, we all knew about this four years ago when Scott showed up out of nowhere and bought the election.

But this time around there's no excuse.

If Rick Scott is re-elected, we as Floridians will deserve every bit of ridicule that will no doubt be heaped upon us.

I have investigated dozens of corporate fraud cases. Rick Scott was one of the 2 creepiest criminals I ever met. Amoral machiavellian.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 6, 2014

Sorry for the Rick Scott rant. People who know this case - including FBI agents - have been dumbfounded 4 years that this crook is governor.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 6, 2014

Heres a story about the 100s of hospitals with 2 sets of books at Scott's company. I obtained 'em. Scott didn't know? http://t.co/TUYuhy8Tja
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 6, 2014

Had the Columbia/HCA case had broken after corporate fraud cases became huge focus during Bush Admin, Rick Scott would still be in jail.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 6, 2014

Whats amazing is senior citizens in Florida have voted for Scott, a man whose company defrauded MEDICARE of billions. Just because he's GOP?
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 7, 2014

True story about reporting on RickScott's Columbia HCA. I'm at executives house at night, interviewing. Dragging on and on. Getting no...
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 7, 2014

...good information. Bored. Interview wrapping up and I ask the same last question I always do. "Is there anything I should have asked u...
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 7, 2014

...that I didn't." Guy thinks for a second and says, "U want to see the memo where my boss ordered me to lie to Medicare auditors?" I say...
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 7, 2014

..."Ummm, yes." I thought he was kidding. He says, "OK, I'll go get it." And one minute later, he brings back the memo. My mouth dropped.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 7, 2014

For those who think the Columbia/HCA investigation by the NYT was just a hit piece, here is a story on the reporting: http://t.co/pweM5zDCZW
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) October 6, 2014